Weekly News Roundup 2/14/20 (BlockFi raise, JPM spinout, Iota is the gift that keeps on giving, and more ) (EP.42)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– BlockFi raise

– Other deals

– JPM spinout?

– USDC

and much more news of the week

Check out this episode!

Jake Chervinsky (Compound) on straddling crypto-anarchy and regulation (EP.41)

Jake Chervinsky the General Counsel of Compound joins the podcast. In this episode we discuss: 

– The history of securities markets in the US
– The Howey test in plain language
– Whether commodities can transmute to securities, and vice versa
– Why markets function best with regulation
– The purpose of open finance
– Being a bitcoiner at an ethereum-focused company 

Check out this episode!

Weekly News Roundup 2/7/20 (Mastercard backs out of Libra, US Marshall Auction and more) (EP.40)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– Deals of the week

– U.S. Marshalls auction

– ICE eyes Ebay

– Crypto safe harbor?

and much more news of the week

Check out this episode!

Alex Leishman (River Financial) on running a Bitcoin financial institution (EP.39)

Alex Leishman, the cofounder and CEO of River Financial joins the show. In this episode we discuss: 

– Why Alex started River Financial

– Why they are Bitcoin only

– Why other exchanges were so quick to list tokens

– The role of banks in Bitcoin

– Practical issues with implementing Proof of Reserves

To learn more about River Financial visit: www.river.com

 

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Weekly News Roundup 1/31/20 (Proof of Stake Tax Policy, Popper on Bitcoin and Nic’s Presidential Endorsement) (EP.38)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– Nic’s Presidential Endorsement

– Proof of Stake Tax Policy

– Popper’s NYT Article

– Ripple IPO?

– Super Bowl Picks

and much more news of the week

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Mike Moro (Genesis Capital) on building cryptoasset market infrastructure for institutions (EP.37)

Mike Moro, the CEO of Genesis Capital/Genesis Trading joins the show. In this episode we discuss: 

– Mike’s pre-Bitcoin career and his path to Second Market and then Genesis

– POV on Bitcoin ETF viability 

– The state of play for cryptoasset market infrastructure

– Cryptoasset lending 

…and much more

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Weekly News Roundup 1/24/20 (Ray Dalio, Bcash, DigixDAO and more) (EP.36)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– new SPAC for Blockchain Co’s

– DigixDAO treasury liquidation

– Bitcoin Investment Trust is now an SEC reporting company

– Bcash dev funding proposal

and much more news of the week

Check out this episode!

Hunter Merghart (Bitstamp) (EP.35)

Hunter Merghart, the Head of USA Operations for Bitstamp joins the show. In this episode we discuss: 

– Bitstamp’s history and USA roadmap

– Hunter’s career path in trading and how he came to enter the cryptoasset market

– Market infrastructure: where we are as an industry, and what needs to be built in order to support institutional adoption

…and much more

Check out this episode!

Weekly News Roundup 1/17/20 (8% of RIAs think Bitcoin is going to zero!?) (EP.34)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– SEC Actions

– Bitwise RIA report

– Canada’s Guidance on Exchanges

– GBTC Q4 Report

– Digital Dollar Think Tank

and much more news of the week

Check out this episode!

Ryan Selkis (Messari) (EP.33)

Ryan Selkis, co-founder and CEO of Messari joins the show. In this episode we discuss: 

– Ryan’s Bitcoin origin story, including his early days blogging under the Two-Bit-Idiot handle

– His experience at DCG / CoinDesk

– Messari’s mission to bring transparency to investors and participants in the public blockchain ecosystem

– His 2020 Crypto Theses including M&A predictions

Learn more about Messari at: https://messari.io/

Check out this episode!

Weekly News Roundup 1/10/20 (AMA Fallout, Telegram, Deribit, SEC news and more) (EP.32)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– AMA predictions fallout

– Deribit moves to Panama

– Telegram blog post

and much more news of the week

Check out this episode!

AMA Episode (thoughts on custody, proof of stake, career choices, bad football picks and more) (EP.31)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures answer listener questions on a range of topics

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Weekly News Roundup 1/3/20 (Alternative Launch Ideas, Token-economic flops, Crypto Banks, and more) (EP.30)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– Hedera Hashgraph Tokeneconomics Proposal

– Iota goes down for 15 hours 

– Nic’s Alternative Launch Blog Post

– Crypto Banks

and more

Check out this episode!

Dave Balter (Flipside Crypto) (EP.29)

Dave Balter, co-founder and CEO of Flipside Crypto joins the show. In this episode we discuss: 

– Dave’s entrepreneurial journey to starting Flipside Crypto, his seventh company

– His perspective on the public blockchains that are attracting meaningful users

– His stance that many of these so-called protocols are actually companies

And much more. 

Learn more about Flipside Crypto at: https://flipsidecrypto.com/

Check out this episode!

Joe Lallouz (Bison Trails) (EP.28)

Joe Lallouz, co-founder and CEO of Bison Trails joins the show. In this episode we discuss: 

– Joe’s career trajectory and the path that led him and his co-founder Aaron to launch Bison Trails

– Joe and Aaron’s initial mining project in the Pacific Northwest

– How Joe thinks about the landscape for infrastructure services in the public blockchain industry

– The Libra Association (Bison Trails is a founding member)

– Raising capital in the blockchain industry in 2019

Learn more about Bison Trails at: https://bisontrails.co/

 

Check out this episode!

Weekly News Roundup 12/20 (ErisX’s one trade day, PlusToken, EMH in Bitcoin, Deals and more) (EP.27)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– ErisX’s futures launch

– PlusToken

– Efficient Markets at the halvening?

– Deals of the week

and more

Check out this episode!

Terrence Dempsey (Head of Product at Fidelity Digital Assets) (EP.26)

Terrence Dempsey, the Head of Product at Fidelity Digital Assets joins the show. In this episode we discuss: 

– Terrence’s career trajectory, including his role at Second Market prior to Fidelity

– Fidelity’s product offering and ambitions in the cryptoasset industry

– Terrence’s views on the current state of play for market infrastructure

Check out this episode!

Weekly News Roundup 12/13 (Pipe to Crypto, ICO Scammers, Jack Dorsey just gets it, and more) (EP.25)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– Deals

– ICO Scammers and DOJ arrests

– Charles Schwab Study

– Jack Dorsey (Square and Twitter)

– Poloniex cold wallets

Check out this episode!

Alex Pack (Dragonfly Capital) (EP.24)

Alex Pack, Co-Founder and General Partner at Dragonfly Capital joins the show. Alex has been investing in the cryptoasset/blockchain space since 2014, and prior to founding Dragonfly, led cryptoasset focused investments for Bain Capital Partners. In this episode we discuss: 

– The blockchain landscape in China

– Dragonfly’s investment thesis

– Regulatory implications of starting a protocol

– Stablecoins

– The evolving nature of venture investing

Check out this episode!

Weekly News Roundup 12/6 (North Korea, Crypto War Games, Huobi) (EP.23)

Matt and Nic from Castle Island Ventures review the top stories of the week in the cryptoasset industry. This week’s topics include: 

– Deals

– North Korea Case

– War Gaming Event at Harvard Kennedy School

– Personnel Moves

– Huobi PlusToken Dumping

Check out this episode!